Taiwan 台湾 2014 Day＃1 - Taichung 台中 Ino Home minsu 民宿 + Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市

It had been 2 years since I last travelled to Taipei 台北 and I'm glad we ventured out of Taipei this time and landed my parents, brother, Fit and I in Taichung 台中! Although it was a short 3 days in Taichung 台中, we got more than what we bargained for and I highly recommend you guys to consider this state if you plan to head to Taiwan 台湾 for holidays!

Our first day was simply R&R because we would be landing at Taoyuan Airport at noon and take Taiwan's High Speed Rail (HSR) to Taichung. I planned to check into Ino Home, which was the minsu we stayed in Taichung 台中 and Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市 for dinner/supper. 

Our itinerary for Taiwan 台湾 Day ＃1:
Singapore Changi Airport -> Taoyuan Airport -> U-Bus #705 -> Taoyuan HSR -> Taichung HSR -> Ino Home -> Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市

We took off at 7.30a.m via Jetstar and landed at Taoyuan close to 11.30a.m. We were pretty knocked out since we woke up at ungodly half past 3a.m. After a long wait to get our passports chopped, I quickly looked out for the telecommunications counter to get data plan for our 6 days' stay in Taiwan.

My parents relaxed one corner while we queue up at and signed up for Plan B for unlimited data plan for 5 days because we would be leaving for home on the 6th day. It was SGD$12.80 for each SIM card. 

Taiwan Mobile 大哥大 seemed to be the most popular one with the longest queue, and I came across some bloggers who chose this telco as well, so that was how we conclude that this should be it! The rates across all telcos are pretty much the same. During my stay in Taiwan, the coverage was quite good except some hilly areas like Lavender Cottage 薰衣草森林 in Taichung台中.

My  awesome travel companion!

We bought a NT30 (SGD 1.30) bus ticket per person to Taoyuan HSR and the short journey just took about 10 minutes. Look out for berth 12 to board bus #705. Operating hours for Ubus is from 6.00am to 12.00a.m, and the frequency is about 5-10 minutes.

Daily tickets are purchased at this counter and we paid NT590 (SGD$25) per person for allocated seats because we were carrying luggages and our lunch bento sets. Being the kiasu Singaporeans, I decided to pay a bit more just so that we could all sit down and enjoy our lunch during our ride.

I was pleasantly surprised that the HSR seats were super comfortable! They were even more so than some budget airlines and they have drop-down trays for passengers to enjoy their meals in the trains, cleaners to clear our thrash and a "dim-sum trolley" with small snacks. Yeap, I was super impressed and come to think about it, the NT590 and the subsequent HSR ride up to Taipei was really worth it. 

It's in my bucket list to have bento 便当 set while in the train in Taiwan and just when I thought the comfy seats were impressive enough, the 便当 was really tasty and doesn't hurt the wallet at all!

Red braised beef noodles - NT75 (SGD3.20)
Curry Chicken rice Bento Set - NT60 (SGD2.60)

I love the texture of the beef noodles, though the chunks of beef were quite small and not that satisfying. The soup was tasty though, slightly spicy but I like that the beef smell was not overpowering.

The boyfie had the curry chicken bento set and he lapped up the entire box right down to the last pearl (rice)! The generous chunks of chicken cutlet in the curry rice bento set was superb and you must, I repeat, must, have Taiwanese pearl rice when you are at Taiwan. It's a sin not to indulge in a few bowls of sticky white pearl rice in Taiwan!

So after 30 minutes of train ride and another 10 minutes of cab ride, we finally arrived at Ino Home B&B Cafe!

It's perfect timing for us as we reached at about 3.00pm, just in time for check-in. As if the bedrooms were not awesome enough, waking up to aromatic coffee brewing downstairs was just pure bliss for us.

I found it really cool that we can rent books or DVDs from the counter staff any time of the day, just look at the huge collection they have here! There was a night where we came back at about 8pm and they were screening a blockbuster with a temporary projector right in front of the counter and it was free for the public too!

We will usually have our breakfast at a long table near the counter and they served really yummy and nutritious breakfast every day during our stay! It was a pity though, that we did not have more time in our stay at Taichung, having coffee by the windows during mid day would be so relaxing and therapeutic. Not to mention that it's along a small alley from the main road, it's not along a busy street and we slept like babies every night during our stay.

Now on to the rooms!

This was us lovebirds' bedroom while my parents and bro took the more spacious bedroom. I was attracted immensely to the rustic charm of the room, with hanging light bulbs, a huge wooden mirror and high windows with the sunlight streaming into the room. I was even more grateful for the clean, fluffy white bed with enough pillows for a mini pillow fight. 

Another plus point of the room was the strategically-positioned power points at our bedside table that makes charging our gadgets while we connect to the social world at night. The room also came with basic amenities like air-conditioning, basic toiletries, clean towels, hair dryer and TV. The whole house is wifi-enabled.

Although Ino Home has only 2 bedrooms, there's an option for an extra bed should you be travelling in a group of no more than 5. I think the 2 bedrooms are just nice and cosy for a family of 5.

This was the other bedroom with an extra bed in the form of a futon! I was worried initially that my bro will have a backache cos he's not used to sleeping on a non-bed, but it was very comfortable surprisingly. In fact, my mom and he took turn to sleep on the futon for the 2 nights.

The cosy talking points in the room were really thoughtful and the balcony became my dad's beer and smoking corner at night. Guessed the alcohol kept him nice and warm because we were shivering at 13 degrees outside.

Ino Home B&B Cafe

• 台中市西區美村路一段564巷27號
• Taichung, Taiwan 403
• Ino Home Website
• Facebook
• Email: inohome.service@gmail.com
• 
  
• Package price for 2 bedrooms, 2 nights stay inc. daily breakfast: NT9180 (SGD392)

After settling down and a short nap, off we go to Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市! 

I read that 逢甲夜市 is the largest night market in the whole of Taiwan and now I have no doubt about that! We were really spoilt for choice every night - Grilled squid or Steak or Teppanyaki or Tempura or Chicken Cutlet?? We are quite adventurous when it comes to food, so here's a mini food guide with some of the food that I found worth trying.

Fried Golden Squid chunks 花枝烧- NT150 (SGD$6.40)

The fried squid was a mixture of squid and fish paste, and we get to choose the seasoning we want. I went for the salt & pepper and it turned out to be a tad too salty but that was resolved easily by the bubble tea readily available at every other stall. 

Grilled Scallops 干贝烧 - NT50 (SGD$2.20)

The grilled scallops were very fresh and juicy. I was so glad it didn't taste like rubber bands and it was quite a reasonable portion as well. Again, we could choose the type of seasoning and I went with the combo one, that has a little bit of all seasoning, which turned out to be a not bad choice!

Grilled Squid 烤鱿鱼 - NT100 (SGD$4.30)

My dad and I are squid-lovers. We see one we eat one. We couldn't let go of the chance to have freshly grilled squid right in front of our eyes for just NT100. I love the slightly burnt smell and it was chewy without being too hard, so I thought it was pretty perfect. 

Spring onion pancakes 葱蛋饼 - NT30 (SGD1.30)

The pancakes were a bit soft, but I think the thin layer of egg with a splatter of spring onion was quite interesting. It's a bit like our thosai without the strong spices smell. Geddit geddit? I wished they went a bit soft on the sauce though, it was quite salty and we had to scramble to look for drinks. 

Chicken cutlet was true to 3D presentation.

Fried Chicken Cutlet 鸡排- NT60 (SGD$2.60)

If you are at Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市, you have to have chicken cutlet from Demon Chicken Cutlet 恶魔鸡排. The stall is located at the small sheltered section within the whole night market with '5-star toilet'. Even though there were long queues, we had this every night because it was so damn good! The juicy chicken breast meat was fried to golden perfection.

Tempura 甜不辣 - NT45 (SGD$1.90)

I think I have a penchant for chewy stuff because I was always on the lookout for tempura 甜不辣 at all the night markets in Taiwan. It's made from fish paste, and the usual suspects included radish, fish ball, chewy fish paste drenched in yong tau foo sauce. You can even request for the soup to be added to the bowl after you're done with the tempura.

Teppanyaki 铁板烧 Chicken/Beef/Pork - NT110 (SGD$4.70)

We had Teppenyaki 铁板烧 for dinner during the second night and it was really yummy! It was a first for my parents and they were so fascinated with the whole frying process right in front of their eyes. Each of the choice of meat comes with 2 vegs and a bowl of white pearl rice. There is free-flow of drinks and soup as well, and the "hibiscus-like" drink tasted so refreshing and yummy. Really felt the #taiwanlove. 

Japan Boat Takoyaki - NT40 (box of 6) (SGD$1.70)

Another street food not to be missed is Japan Boat Takoyaki! I was totally clueless on the popularity of these octopus tako balls and to think that we just joined in the long queue. *erhemSingaporeanserhem* The balls were slightly crispy with a tinge of sweetness and the octopus was very fresh and tender. I really like the texture and the tinge of sweetness was a winning combo with the terriyaki sauce and tuna flakes. Do try the wasabi one! It's an interesting taste. ;)

Wa they even have a website lor! It does look like there's only 1 outlet in Taichung at Fengjia Night Market. 

Chinese dessert 粉圆 - NT45 (SGD$1.90)

The Taiwan's dessert are also not to be missed! I love the mixture of taro balls, sago balls, chunks of sweet potato and grass jelly in their sweet soup! Especially when you order the hot version and have it on a windy cold night is super duper shiok!

Taiwan Ice Cream - NT50 (SGD$2.30)

I shall end off my Day #1 with this friggin' tall ice cream cone. You can practically find it anywhere in Taiwan, the caveat is that it's not as tasty as it looks. We ordered merely to try! It is refreshing after a few rounds of grilled snacks and chicken cutlet though. 

Do share in the comment box below if you come across some snack that I should take note of because I definitely will head back again sometime soon (cross fingers)!

I hoped you have enjoyed reading my Day #1 adventure in Taichung! Look out for  Day #2 where we visit a flower farm, lavender cottage and recommendations on where to get yummy suncakes in Taichung!

//Edited:

I engaged a driver for 2 days in Taichung and he's really helpful and humorous! My whole family was tickled pink during the whole trip by him and his charges were really reasonable. Some of you have asked me about the number of hours that we engage him per day, and the thing is, we initially agreed to 8 hours a day, but as the day goes by, we had so much fun that we exceed 8 hours every day, and he did not charge us extra at all! Though we tipped him a bit at the end of the trip cos we really had a good time and his service was very good in our opinion. I'm not paid to do this, but here's his contact:

Mr Lin 林先生

HP no.: +886 925 580 202

He's very tech-savvy, able to Whatsapp and send voice notes!

Aspoonfulofsoul Taiwan Travel Diary:
Day #2: Taichung 台中 Flower Market 中社花市 + Lavender Cottage 薰衣草森林 ＋ Ah Ming Shi Tai yang Biscuits 阿明师太阳饼 + Miyahara 宮原眼科

Day #3: Taichung 台中 Strawberry Farm 牛奶草莓园 + Sun Moon Lake 日月潭＋ 18 Degree C 巧克力工房